Whose Way?

As an artist, it can be challenging to get – and keep – a perspective on your work. The questions you ask yourself include "Who do I do this for?" "What do I want/expect from this endeavor?" and "Whose guidance should I heed, and whose should I ignore?"

Certainly, you need to realize you can't please everyone. And you shouldn't try. Silence and holding back your thoughts might not make you any enemies, but it also doesn't attract any true friends, either.

I'm still figuring all of this out. But I have decided that the only advice I will listen to from now on is encouragement. If someone tells me they loved a particular blog post or story or whatever and they'd like to see more like it, then I'll be eager and enthusiastic to try to please. But if they start off with criticism, or even a sentence with "you should…" I've decided I'm going to shut them down – or out – and write what I want and stop trying to please everyone.